St. Landry democrat., 1887-11-19

handsome plant, but extremely poison
Gus. A variety Of this fungus is found
in Kamtchatka which possesses the
power of producing intoxication. 1t is
gathered and dried with care, and, when
a kamtchatkan desires little hilarity,
he swallows a morsel and is gratitied
with long drunk Now will mention
fungus which is familiar to every coun-
try boy-touchwood or punk-a hard
woody eXcrescence growing like
bracket on trunks of trees. This SUBJ
stance has the property of being lumin-
Gus in the dark. 1t is parasite and its
appearance bodies no good to the tree.
That thief in grain, the rust, be-
longs to the fungus family, and it has
many time made the future look bleak
and desolate to the farmer, running as il
does promising fields of oats and wheat.
The mature rust plant leaves black
stain on the old stubble in grain field.
Here exist the reproductive spores. The
warm damp days Of spring cause germi-
nation, and a short stem is produced
bearing another crop of spores which
will not grow upon the grain They
have an especial fondness for the bar
berry bush, where they terminate rapidly
on the under surface of the leaves and
plOiiCc tlllltI CLASS VI > pOICo "ilICii> Sill
gular to relate, will not grow on the
barberry bush, but if they fall upon q
blade or stalk of grain they make them
selves at home, covering it with yellow
rusty coat.
That singular substance, corn smut 10
a fungus This thieving plant takes pos
session Of the kernels when the ear is
quite young and monopOlizes such grains
as they want, completely transforming
the tissue into thready substance, which
at maturity becomes black, dusty mass
of spores. | have seen this plant cling
also to the tassels of the corn. Speaking
of black dust, every boy knows the puff
ball, that round fungus found in the,
meadow, which, on being kicked or
squeezed, sends out a dusty cloud Of
minute spores. When young it is gela~
tinous mass, and then it must be that, &C
cording to DR.. Badham, they taste like
sweetbreads. They certainly are not
tempting to the appetite in their dry
form. When | allude to the stink-horn
the boys will smile, for they all know
him He has stalk four to
five inches in length, bearing
small cap at the top, which is
covered with a green slime. This
slime soon Iiquefies and drops to the
ground, attracting those buzzards of the
insect world-the green flies. These
insects eagerly devour this disgusting
mass. The top now looks like honey
comb, but there the resemblance ends,
for the stench-no, stencil won't do;
will cling to that homely word stink.
There is something finite about stencil,
and there is nothing finite about the odor
of stink-horn. Well, the stink is un-
bearable. | knew of botanist once
carrying a specimen of this fungus in
the cars. AS he was possessed of defec-
tive olfactories he could not understand
why people were crowded in the other
cars, while he alone occupied the one
containing the stink-horn.
You have often observed, no doubt, 6
curious formation on the cedar tree,
about the size of walnut, but irregular
and of handsome brown color. In wet
weather it is covered with long, gelatin
Gus tilaments of an orange color. Per-
haps you thought them cedar apples,
They are another branch of the vast
family of fungi. Do not imagine that
have named a diminutive share of this
family; there are many hundreds more
equally interesting JAS G. PLUMMER